Ari
by Wandering Seas
Summary: One of my favorite characters in the movie is Thomas, and he seems so lonely, I invented a girl for him. Arielle isn't the delicate, prissy girl everyone expects her to be; she has an adventurer's soul. And an adventurer's soul needs something to explore, right? The New World provides just that adventure she craves. If only she were a boy... Thomas/OC Pochahontas/John S.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N this may have some grammar mistakes. Sorry. I don't own Pocahontas or Thomas *sigh***

**Book of the update: the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins**

Chapter 1

"Arielle! Arielle! You haven't forgotten about the ball we're hosting, have you? Arielle!" my eyes shoot open, and I have to grasp the trunk of the tree to keep from falling as I hear my Aunt's heavily accented voice calling. The party; I completely forgot! I glance at the sun, judging it to be about noon, and then look down at my clothes: old trousers of Jacques' and a loose white shirt, with my hair in tangles and flying everywhere. Uh-oh. Quickly looking around, I jump down from the tree and pad silently on my bare feet across the garden.

Quietly closing the door to my rooms, I rush into the closet, grabbing the new dress Aunt bought me and throwing it onto my desk. I am quickly rinsing the dirt out of my hair and drying it with a towel when Maggie, my ladies maid, taps me on the shoulder, holding up the blue gown in one hand and an undone corset in the other.

"Breathe in, Miss Arielle!" I try, and feel my lungs ache as Maggie ties the final laces to the corset. "All done! Now let's get this dress on. The color will look gorgeous on you." I sigh (or try to) and consent to the gown being slid over my head. Aunt made me pick it out, and I chose the simplest one she would allow: soft blue silk embroidered with silver swirls, a tight-fitting bodice with sleeves to the elbow, and a gauzy material flowing to the wrist. The skirt is as slim as she would allow, and no wide metal hoops underneath, or layers upon layers or frilly underskirts, and only 1 ribbon draping across the front.

Maggie has put my long blonde hair in a marvelous up do, with a few loose curls here and there. A strand of pearls hangs on m neck, matching the one on my wrist. A heavy powder has been applied to my face, along with reddish color on my lips. As I see this all in the looking-glass, I realize that I look beautiful…and not myself. I hate it.

The toes of my pinchy grey slippers hurt like crazy, causing me to trip numerous times (no one saw except once) I smile fakely and try to politely greet everyone my Aunt knows, watching miserably as Jacques charms all the lords and ladies who walk away from me, either bored or disgusted with something I let slip out of my big mouth. A fat lord's son waddles over to me and asks to dance. Oh joy.

I finally escape his grasp as the song ends. "I'm going to get some air." I mumble, pushing past him. In the yard, I walk down to my favorite tree, and look around before pulling off my slippers, laying them by the trunk, and climb up to the Y-branches. If my Aunt saw me now, she would kill me. Even my cousin, Elizabeth, who is 6 years old, can sit still and have fun at a ball or tea party. Not me; I like to run, swim, climb trees, and ride horses. I like to hunt, and with Uncle's gun, I can hit my mark from exactly 100 yards away, maybe even farther; I've never tried. A sound interrupts my train of thought: a whistling. Startled, I look down to see a pair of brown eyes, just as startled a mine, looking back at me.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I don't own Pocahontas or Thomas. Sorry this chapter's so short.(don't kill me!)**

**Book of the update: Pillage by Obert Skye**

Chapter 2

I freeze, foolishly hoping he can't see me. "What are you doing up there?" too late.

I cringe slightly, thinking of what m Aunt will do, before replying "sitting. Thinking." He looks surprised, "did you think that I was stuck?"

My temper starts to flare as he chuckles "your words, not mine. So are you?" I huff, crossing my arms, and swing my leg over the Branch, hopping down onto my stockinged feet. I slide my feet into my painful slippers and look at the boy. He seems to be about 17; a year or so older than me. "Oh." His expression is so shocked, like he expected me to be stuck. I open my mouth to make a (probably rude) remark when I see Aunt beckon me inside with an angry look. I murmur apologies to the boy before trudging back indoors, looking wistfully at the tree.

"What were you doing outside in a tree, and alone with _him_, for goodness' sake?" she's mad, very mad.

I shrink back slightly before responding with "I went outside for some air. He was there. That's all; I don't even know his name."

She gives me a disbelieving look. "Go to your rooms and stay there for the rest of the party. If someone important asks for a dance, I'll coma and get you. Go."(Yes!) I try to look sad about my punishment, and turn to walk away.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I don't own it! Okay? Happy, now, Disney? **

**Book of the update: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan**

Chapter 3

Sitting on a couch in one of my rooms, I stare wistfully out the window, looking at the ocean. I have always wanted to sail the seas; to see what's out there. I want to travel to the New World. They've been there once before, but if they went again, it would last. I know it. I hear a noise and turn to see Aunt standing in front of me, arms crossed. "Well?" she demands.

I'm completely bewildered and have no idea what she's talking about. I sit there, staring at her in confusion. "Pardon?"

"Why aren't you at the party?" she places her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

"You told me to go up to my rooms and stay here as punishment for being outside in the tree."

Aunt looks exasperated now, "I told you to stay there until someone important asked for you, and Lord Chall's son requested a dance. He fancies you, and you can't do much better than a relation to a lord."

I stare at her, aghast "you want me to come down _just _to talk to that fat, boring-"

"That is quite enough! He is the lord's son, and you will go dance with him as he requests. Now."

"So… what do you like to do?" I ask Harry Chall, the Lord Chall's son.

He smiles his pudgy smile at me, "I enjoy reading and attending the opera. I also love to walk in the park, and find dancing invigorating. What do you enjoy?"

"Um…" I reply, trying to remember what Aunt told me to say when someone asks me this, "I like to….sew! And play the piano and I love to read. Dancing is indeed invigorating." None of that is true, of course, but Harry seems to find it acceptable, and we continue our dance in silence.

"Well, that was fun." I lie, trying to get away, "but I'm afraid that I've promised my brother a dance, and have to go now. This has been lovely." He smiles and leans down to kiss the back of my hand before waddling away. I step over to where Jacques is standing and tell him to dance with me.**(A/N if you're slow, Jacques is her bro.)**

"Why?"

"Because I told Harry that I had promised you a dance, and I can't very well just stand her. He's watching me."I nod towards where Harry stands, half-listening to some girl trying to woo him, but mostly staring at me.

Jacques recoils, "Bleh. Okay, I'll help you; let's dance."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I don't own the amazing movie Pocahontas or Disney. If I did, i wouldn't be borrowing money from friends. :P**

**Book of the update: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George **

Chapter 4

At last the party is over, and the guests are gone. I slump my shoulders down and pull my slippers off, holding them in my hand as I sneak out to the garden. Trying to step over the damp grass is almost impossible in this dress. I drop the slippers and hike up my dress to my knees, running down the hill, jumping over flowerbeds until I come to m tree. Holding my skirts with one hand, I climb up to the Y-branches again, and sit there, leaning against the trunk.

"Hello again. Aren't you going to get in trouble for sitting there again?" a voice shocks me so much, I almost fall out of the tree, eyes wide.

I catch myself in time and call down "what are you still doing here?" a red-haired head pops into my line of vision, confirming my guess. "The party ended almost an hour ago."

He chuckles, "that's not any way to talk to a guest, is it?"

"You didn't answer my question!"

"You didn't answer mine."

My face breaks out into a smile. I slide down the trunk "touché. I'm Arielle, by the way."I say, holding out my hand to shake.

He takes it, chuckling "Thomas. I've never seen a lady offer to shake hands before."

I roll my eyes and bend in a deep curtsy: "pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Thomas."

He smiles and bows to me, "the pleasure is all mine, Lady Arielle. And to answer your earlier question, I was just leaving, and realized that I left my hat under your tree." he holds up the article, showing me.

"Oh. And I'm sorry for earlier. You startled me." I see a light go on from the corner of my eye, and Aunt's shadow pass in front, probably looking for me. "Oh gosh. I'm sorry, I have to go."

His smile drops. "I'll see you sometime, then?"

"Maybe." I smile apologetically before running back up the hill, grabbing my shoes as I go.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N sorry if the time for Roanoke and Jamestown is off. I guessed from what I remember from history class last year. Hehe. Oh, yeah. I don't own Disney World. Or Jamestown. Or America. Or Pocahontas.**

**Book of the update: Harry Potter (whichever one) by J.K. Rowling**

Chapter 5

"You were in that tree again, weren't you?" I nod sheepishly, looking at my muddy feet. "Well, at least you kept your dress clean. Go wash up and get ready for bed."

I nod and start to walk up the stairs when I turn and ask, "Why didn't you like me talking to that boy in the garden? We were just talking."

Her face darkens slightly "that _boy _is Thomas Jones. He is one of those imbeciles travelling to the New World to start a settlement. If you ask me, they're just asking for death. Like the colony of Roanoke, they'll be killed or missing after 1 month-" she breaks off, looking at me with concern.

I don't care, I'm too busy thinking. 'he's going to the New World?" my eyes sparkle.

Aunt scoffs, "yes, and he and all the men going are destined for failure."

I'm not really listening; my mind is spinning too fast. "I'm going to wash up and go to bed. Goodnight, Aunt Caroline."

"Goodnight, dear."

People say that I have an adventurer's spirit, and I guess I get it from my father. He left when I was very young to go the New World, and the whole settlement-including him- just went missing, with the word **Roanoke** carved into a tree. People searched Roanoke Island, but the settlers were never found and assumed dead. My mother died of grief soon after, and Jacques and I were sent from our home in France to live with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Jonathan in England. I really am grateful, but Aunt expects me to be just like her: social, dressy, girly, elegant, polite, graceful, delicate…everything that I'm not.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I don't own Pocahontas.**

**Book of the update: Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery**

Chapter 6

Waking up, I throw on the first dress I see, pile my hair into a loose braid, grab an apple downstairs, and run outside. I quickly change into Jacques' shirt and trousers I have hidden in the barn, pulling on the leather boots also stashed there. I quietly step over to the stall holding my horse, Spirit, and open the gate. She snorts and walks out towards me, eager to run outside. I lead her out of the barn and step up, riding bareback over the grassy hills and into the forest.

I stop her as we reach the edge of the trees, peering out into the street. I can see the harbor from here; I am looking for the Susan Constant, the boat taking them to the New World. I see it, but it's not even completely built yet: there are carpenters and shipbuilders all working on the ship in the middle of the harbor.

"Looking for something?" A voice scares me so much that I literally jump into the air. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he chuckles.

I turn and face him angrily. "Thomas, why didn't you tell me that you were going to the New World?"

His smile drops, and rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I um…. You didn't ask." I look at him, my hands on my hips, waiting for a better answer. "Alright. I knew that your Aunt doesn't approve of all of us going to the New World, and she only invited us to the party to make it look like she supported us, and I really hoped that you wouldn't think the same way, because I didn't really want you to hate me or disapprove or…" he trails off.

"I don't hate you. I'm not my aunt; I think it's wonderful that you're going to the New World. I only wish that I could go."I frown and hear Thomas chuckle, his fear apparently gone. "What?" I demand, "What is so funny?"

He laughs again before saying, "You always have to be the best, don't you? I can see it in your eyes; you like to do everything you can, and you like to be the best at everything you can."

I look down. "Sorry." I mutter.

"Sorry? Arielle, what do you have to be sorry for?"

I look up again in confusion, but, seeing the wide grin on his face, I crack a smile as well, forgetting what I had been about to say.


	7. Chapter 7

A**/N sorry for the late update; my compute was having issues. I don't own Pocahontas.**

**Book of the update: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer**

Chapter 7

"So, what are you doing?" Thomas asks me.

"I….um…..I wanted to see the Susan Constant."

He looks confused. "Why? It's just a ship."

"It's not just a ship; it's freedom. Wouldn't expect _you_ to understand; you go adventuring all the time, I suppose."

He shakes his head. "This is my first time. I do get what you mean, though. Hey, would you like to see it? From up close?"

My eyes widen. "Are you serious?" he nods. "I should probably change first….." I say, looking down at my clothes, red-faced.

Thomas chuckles. "Alright. Let me walk you back."

"Stay here and don't let Aunt see you."Thankfully, Thomas doesn't seem offended by what I said. I walk inside the barn and quickly change back into my dress from earlier, slipping on my shoes and loosely re-braiding my hair at the same time.

"Alright, let's go see this freedom, shall we?"

He laughs and offers me his arm. "Right away, Your Grace." Giggling as well, I take his arm and together we walk down the street, laughing like idiots.

**A/N sorry…wasn't too sure how to end this chapter….**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I am Walt Disney. I own Pocahontas. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOKS ON YOUR FACES! HAH! But seriously, I'm just a wittle fanfictioner, nobody impowtant…..not the cweator of Disney….**

**Book of the update: Camille by Tess Oliver**

**P.S. it's been 3 months since the last chapter happened, and Thomas and Arielle's friendship has grown a lot. The Susan Constant is about to leave in about a week.**

Chapter 8

"Do you have to leave?" I whined to Thomas for the hundredth time.

"Yes, I have to go."

"Then can-"

"No, I cannot take you with me, Arielle. The ship is no place for a woman; at least, in their eyes. Personally, I think that you would do better than half of the men going to the New World."

My shoulders slump as he reads my mind, denying my request. I sigh dramatically. "Fine. Fine. Fine…..I'll just go sew…cause I'm no use as anything else…."insert overly dramatic sigh here "I'll go darn some socks or make bread…"

Thomas rolls his eyes as I carry on moping and whining. Suddenly, he prods my arm and gestures to the garden path, where I see my Aunt walking up. Instantly, I straighten up and try to slide my shoes back on unsuccessfully. I kick them underneath the bench and stand up, shaking my dress down over my feet and jerking Thomas up as well. "Aunt Caroline." I say politely and Thomas gives a small bow.

"Arielle, come inside; the sun will give you freckles without your hat**.** And Mr. Jones, a messenger was sent saying you were needed with the crew of the Susan Constant." She says stiffly. **(A/N random last name for Thomas)**

As he walks away, I stare longingly after him. Lucky Thomas, going to see the ship. "Arielle, you need to pack for your trip."Aunt's voice jars me from my thoughts.

"Trip? Where am I going?"

"You are going to see Grandmother Willow." I nod and go inside to pack my things. I have mixed emotions about this trip. I was hoping to be able to see the Susan Constant leave for the New World, but I love Grandmother Willow; she _understands_ me. She lives in a big house on lots of land with a huge forest of uncut trees surrounding her. It's very far from any towns or shops, but that's alright. She lets me wear trousers and a shirt around, and doesn't get mad when I sit in the trees for hours. She knows all sorts of legends and always talks of the spirits and the trees. She loves the trees. I've seen her sit in the grass by the small river among the roots of a tree for hours just…..listening. Feeling. Living.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PAGE BREAK!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I peer around the trees, anxiously looking for Thomas. I only have a short amount of time until I leave for Grandmother Willow's house, and I wanted to say goodbye. I finally spot him and give a sharp whistle sounding remarkably like a birdcall. He turns and grins when he sees me. When he finally gets to the edge of the trees, I pull him in and wrap my arms around his neck. It takes him a moment, but he returns the hug eventually. "What was that for?"

"I'm leaving for Grandmother Willow's house. Knowing her, I might ride back on Spirit to see you leave England, but I might not be able to. I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck. Also, be careful."

"Careful? Of what?"

"Savages. My father was one of the few people in the Roanoke colony, and you saw what the savages did to them. I don't want you to get hurt." **(A/N BTW, I don't agree with this, but that's what Arielle assumed happened, since the people just….disappeared.)**

He looks touched and smiles at me. "I promise to be careful. I'm sorry about your father, though." I shrug it off. That was a long time ago. "When we leave, I'll be looking for you. If this is the last time we see each other, I…I'll miss you, Arielle." He gives me a last hug and we both turn our separate ways.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N I don't own Pocahontas.**

**Book of the update: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis**

Chapter 9

I walk up the path to Grandmother Willow's house, my bag slung over my shoulder, filled with one or two dresses and the rest trousers and shirts that once belonged to Jacques. As I am about to knock on the door, it opens to reveal Grandmother Willow smiling at me.

"Well hello, child! Come in, come in and put your bags down; don't be just standin' about." She shuffles back as I step inside and walk to my room to dump my bag unceremoniously on the floor. I shut the door to my room and throw open the bag, changing into a comfortable pair of trousers and a shirt, tossing the dress on the floor next to my bag.

"Hello again, Grandmother Willow!"

She smiles at me. "Hello, Arielle. It's nice to see you again; your Aunt keeps you stuck up in that city for far too long. You need to be out here in nature."

I smile again, asking with my eyes if I can go outdoors.

She nods towards the door. "Them trees aren't going to wait forever."

I bound out into the forest and climb up my favorite tree as fast as a squirrel **(A/N that may seem exaggerated, but I did that on purpose. She's bragging.)** I poke my head over the leafy top, trying to see all the way to the city. I'm looking for the Susan Constant, trying to see if it's left yet or not.

No. I can see the tip of the mast poking above the foggy clouds. I breathe a sigh of relief; they haven't left yet. I climb down the tree and walk back inside.

"Grandmother Willow, if I wanted to, say-"

"Go."

I look at her, startled. "Pardon?"

"Go. If your heart tells you something," she leaned in as if she was about to tell me a huge secret. "Follow it."

My eyes widen. "Do you mean that I should-"

"Yes. If you never come back, I will make up some story about a wild bear to tell your family."

I stare at her for a moment before my face breaks out in a grin. "Thank you."

She smiles before replying, "You remind me so much of another girl I know. She is just like you, in a way."

Back in my room, I'm looking into the mirror, holding a pair of shears up to my hair. If I do this, there's no turning back. This is final. I snap them shut and watch as my hair fall to the floor in long blonde waves, severed from my head. I trim the front a bit more before dumping the stuff out of my bag and fill it up with my (Jacques') clothes. I put a hat on my head, pulling it low over my face to try and hide my identity a bit. I slip on the leather boots, tucking my trousers into them, and rub muddy water onto my face, letting it dry onto my skin, staining it darker. I look in the mirror once more. I'm ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Go back to Grandmother Willow, Spirit. Go on." I whisper into her ear. She whinnies before turning and running off into the woods, leaving me alone on the edge of the street. Taking a deep breath, I walk over to the Susan Constant. The men aren't leaving yet, but they're there, loading up supplies and such. I walk over to the man who is obviously the captain; or at least, the leader.

"I uh….want to go to the New World with you."

He looks down at me over his nose. "And who are you, man?"

"Um…Ari. My name is Ari Williams."**(A/N Ari is a real name, it's Hebrew. Just saying.)**

He sticks his nose higher into the air, if that's possible. "Well, I suppose that another one of you stinking peasants aboard this journey will do no harm."

I stash my bag behind some trees and go to help the men load up the supplies. An armored blonde man sees me standing, unsure what to do, and walks over. "Here take these barrels up onto deck and then down the stairs into the lower deck; we're using that as the cellar. I'm John Smith, by the way. You new here? What's your name?"

I smile gratefully and pick up a barrel **(A/N she's strong from…something she does regularly….um…something…) **and we walk and talk. "I'm Ari Williams, and yeah, I'm new here." I try to make my voice deeper as I speak, and apparently it works, because John nods and asks how well I can shoot a gun. We talk for a few more barrel-loads into the ship before he says he has to go and walks off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**LOADING THE SHIP NOW! **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grabbing my bag, I walk up onto the ship with the rest of the men, going down into our quarters. The men start calling which bunks they want. I quickly go to the hammock farthest away from the rest, and put my bag down. "This one's mine." The men barely even hear me as they argue about who gets the one next to the porthole and so on. Rolling my eyes, I walk up the stairs onto the deck.

I smile when I see a read, hat-covered head leaning over the rail, seemingly searching the crowd gathered in the streets. Walking over, I lean my arms onto the railing next to him. "Looking for someone?"

Startled, he looks up, blushing. "N-no. Why?"

I raise my eyebrow at him. Not only did he just blush when I asked him if he was looking for anyone, he also didn't realize who I am. Men can be so dense. I roll my eyes again. "No reason. I'm Ari." I say, holding out a hand for him to shake.

He takes it. "Thomas." I smile slightly, thinking about the first time I made his acquaintance.

The ship moves slightly, and the crowd starts roaring as we leave the docks. I wave to them, not knowing anyone, but still….

The sea spray hits my face and I laugh. This is going to be a great adventure.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Sorry for the really late update; I just started school, and this past week has been a bit…hectic. No excuse, but whatever. I don't own Pocahontas.**

**Book of the update: The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan**

Chapter 10

"Pull that rope there!"

"Come on! Come on!"

"Watch out!"

I scream and hold tight to the mast as the ship rocks, sending wave after wave of water onto the deck and into the ship itself. I can hear the men below decks yelling that she is taking in more water; it is getting harder for them to pump it all out.

I see Thomas trying to secure the canons when the ropes begin to snap. He holds it in place with his own strength for a moment. "John! Get down here! The cannons are breaking loose!"

John Smith swings down a rope and lands on deck, yelling "Steady on the course! It's all right, Thomas. We'll get 'er tied off."

"Say your prayers men!" I hear someone call from below the deck.

Trying to keep my balance, I stagger over to the stairwell. "How's it going down there?"

"She's filling up pretty fast! If the wind keeps blowing like this, we won't have long at all before she sinks!"

Worriedly, I try in vain to walk over to John Smith to relay this information when a humongous wave overtakes us, crashing over the whole deck, taking cannon, some wood, John and Thomas to the opposite side of the ship. John grabs a stray rope and hangs from it, but I feel my heart stop when Thomas is washed overboard, yelling for help as he falls.

"Thomas!" I yell, making my way over as fast as I can.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" I hear in the distance. John Smith yells to some sailor: "Pull the pin!"

"Aye sir!" the sails go flying loose and John runs to the side of the ship, diving over with only the rope tied around himself to keep him from being lost forever.

"Smith! Are you crazy?!" a man yells into the waves.

The rain blurs my vision, and for a few heart-stopping moments, there is no sound of voices or any other sign to show that Thomas and John are alive.

"The rope! Come on men, put your back into it!" a wet mass flops onto the deck, holding tightly to another. Thomas and John.

"Well, that was refreshing." Smith says wittily.

"Well done, Smith."

"Course. You'd all do the same for me." He smiles as the men begin saying how they would and they're so loyal. I just roll my eyes, watching Thomas shakily stand up.

The fat man in purple is suddenly standing right behind us. "Trouble on deck?"

"Governor Radcliffe. Thomas fell overboard, sir."

"Thank heavens he's been successfully retrieved. Well done, Smith."

"Thank you, sir."

Radcliffe crosses over the deck, and begins some speech about not giving up hope and the New World and some other stuff that I didn't really hear.

"This New World's gonna be great, Ari." Thomas tells me as we tie up the cannons again. "I'm gonna get me a pile of gold, build a big house and if any Indian tries to stop me, I'll blast 'im."

John Smith over hears. "You just worry about that fortune of yours, Thomas. I'll deal with the Indians."

"You think they'll give us much trouble, Smith?" I ask.

"Not as much trouble as Smith'll give them." A man replies, putting a feather in a mop and dancing around like and Indian. The whole crew soon starts singing some song about savages.

I follow John and Thomas to the crow's nest for our watch. We have to have three of us in case we fall asleep…or fall out.

"What do you think the New World will be like, John?" Thomas asks.

"Like all the others, I suppose. I've seen hundreds of New Worlds, boys. What could possibly be different about this one?"

"This one….this one's freedom." I say, leaning on the rail and staring at the dark horizon.

**A/N I was actually watching the movie when I wrote this, so the words should be right. Next chapter will be longer, I promise. This was just the part on the ship with Ari added in.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N me no own**

**Book of the update: Beautiful Joe by Marshall Sanders**

**P.S. It was too hard to go get the movie and watch it like last chappy, so I'm just gonna try to remember it and hop I don't skip too much.**

Chapter 11

As the ship is being tied down by the men, I climb down a ladder and splash into the shallow water, laughing as the wind blows colorful leaves into my face, making me think of some unknown song about the wind's colors…I'm thrown off a bit by this, but it's gone as I see the men rushing towards the land.

I whoop and follow behind them, sending up splashes of water into my face and soaking my clothes. My boots hit the sand and I can't help but smile. I made it to the New World. I am the first woman to ever step foot here besides those rotten savages. I whoop again and smile as the men join in.

Our excitement dies as Governor Radcliffe steps out onto the sand. He looks over the land and smiles evilly, simply drooling over all the gold that we will find. He sends that skinny, twitchy man who carries his dog to get pickaxes and shovels and wheelbarrows so that we can begin digging for our gold and making a suitable place to live here.

As we hack into the earth, I feel bad for the land and the trees; we're destroying them. But, without it, we'll never be able to truly live here. The governor begins to sing about the gold he wishes to find, and the men join in, occasionally saying how they want to discover more or some other fantasy for this New world.

Thomas tries(and fails) to shoot his gun at the "savages" and anger boils up inside of me as Radcliffe makes a snide comment about him learning how to "properly shoot a gun, or leave now" **(A/N Sorry that's the wrong words…)** and he hangs his head, ashamed.

I stick the shovel into the dirt again and scoop out rocks and clumps of earth for the thousandth time when I see a shadow move. Being the reckless idiot that I am, I go towards it. A little raccoon is scampering about with some crackers; I suppose one of the men gave them to it. "Hey little guy." I say, walking past him and chuckling as he growls with his cheeks full of cracker crumbs. The shadow is still there, though. Behind a big rock. I slowly creep towards it, stopping when I hear John Smith's voice. My eyes widen; I could get into serious trouble for not helping and for leaving the group. I quickly run back, trying and failing to muffle my footsteps.

A sound makes me turn….it sounded like someone shushing somebody. I look back just long enough to see a girl's head pop out from behind the rock, her face a mirror image of my own shocked one. We simply stare at each other until someone calls out "WILLIAMS! GET OVER HERE!" I turn and run over quickly. "I uh….had to go to the bathroom." I say, still looking back over my shoulder at the girl.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N io non aquisto. Capice?**

**Book of the update: Black by Ted Decker**

Chapter 12

When the fort is finally done, Thomas and I decide to go exploring.

"I wonder if we'll ever be able to go back to England." Thomas says.

"Are you anxious to leave already, Thomas?" I say, incredulous.

He blushes. "No….I just wanted to…..never mind."

I narrow my eyes. "Oh really? What is so important that you would want to leave the New World and go back to that hole of a city for, hmmm?"

His face turns an even deeper shade of red and he mumbles something incoherent. "What was that? I didn't quite catch it."

"I said I wanted to bring somebody here, okay?"

"Ooh, Thomas has a sweetheart!" I tease, though there's a feeling inside me that almost…jealous? What?

He blushes again, giving me reason to tease him more. "Come on, what's her name?"

"I'm not telling you!" he says, crossing his arms. I roll my eyes at his childish actions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"oh, Thomas! Look at that tree!"

He stares at me. "It's a tree."

Ignoring him, I climb up the branches and sit on the highest one, feathery leaves brushing my face. "Bet you can't climb this high!" I boast. Thomas is standing there, staring up at me, his jaw down by his feet.

Then he smirks and tries to climb up the trunk, finally getting up to where I am. He sits down heavily on the branch and it sways dangerously. "Hey! Watch it, fatty!"

Thomas looks at me, an angry look on his face. "Fatty?"

I open my mouth, sputtering helplessly "But that wasn't me!"

He rolls his eyes. "Right, it was the tree."

"You're darn right it was!" we both look up this time. That voice….it sounded sort of….familiar….. I climb up a bit higher and finally come to a flat platform facing a dent in the tree trunk.

"Hello?" I say, feeling slightly foolish, talking to a tree.

The tree bark moves, somewhat resembling a face. "Hello, child."

I move backwards without turning my head. "Thomas? Can you come up here?" after a moment, he clambers up and sits beside me.

"What is it?"

"The tree just spoke to me."

"Well don't you recognize me?"

My eyes widen. "Grandmother Willow?"

The tree smiles and I can only blink dumbly and smile back.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N io non aquisto. ****Capisce?**

**Book of the update: The Odyssey by Homer**

Chapter 13

I look again at Thomas, staring dumbstruck at the tree, then turn to the wooden replica of my grandmother. I shake my head; mouthing the words _please don't tell_. Thankfully, she understands and winks at me.

"Now, who is this fine young man here, hmmm?" silence. "Speak up, boy! You got a name?"

He nods and says, "Thomas, ma'am," with a slight quiver in his voice.

"You both came in on that ship, no? The one with the strange clouds full of wind?"

"Strange clouds….?" Thomas murmurs, but I cut him off, saying

"Yes ma'am. We came on the Susan Constant. With-"

She cuts me off. "John Smith. Oh yes, I know who _he_ is." Her eyes twinkle mischievously, which looks rather odd on a tree.

Thomas looks confused. "How do you know John?"

She looks insulted for some reason. "Now, boy! That ain't my secret to tell or yours to ask about! Understand?!" he nods quickly. "Good. Now, where was I…..oh yes! You" a branch points to Thomas. "Get out of here. I need to speak to this young _man_ alone."

The branch flicks his bottom as he slowly climbs down the tree, and when he finally reaches the ground, a curtain of leaves and branches blocks his view and hopefully sound, too.

"Grandmother Willow, what are you doing here? Is this a dream? Why are you a tree? Can you tell me how you know who John is? Why did you tell me to come here? Why didn't you tell me you were a tree? Have you seen my father? Why were you so mean to Thomas? Ho-"

"QUIET!" I stop asking questions. "Thank you. No, this is not a dream, yes I am a tree, and no I will not be answering all of those questions. Phew! That just about took away all my breath. Now, why haven't you told that boy who you really are? Do you think he'd tell anyone? He's infatuated with you, Arielle; can you not see that?"

I feel my face heat up, and am about to reply when a bronze-colored hand breaks through the leaves, closely followed by a body. A girl's body, to be exact. A dark-skinned girl's body wearing a short tan dress with feathers sewn to it around the top. Her face, however, looks just as shocked as mine. We simply stare at each other for a few moments until Grandmother Willow breaks the silence like a wave breaking on the shore. "Pocahontas, meet Arielle. Arielle, meet Pocahontas."

"Hello." The girl-Pocahontas says cautiously.

"Um….hi."

After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Grandmother Willow sighs. "Honestly, you two are so similar, you're almost the same girl split in two, and you can't even have a decent conversation?"

Pocahontas giggles, and covers her moth with her hand. I'm not sure why, but next thing I know, we're laughing as if we've been friends for years.

We finally stop and I realize that my hat must've fallen off. "Do you see my hat anywhere?" I ask.

It waddles over, a striped tail poking out the back. Pocahontas picks up the hat to reveal a grey raccoon scurrying around. "This is Miko." She says as she hands me my hat.

As she looks up, she gasps and her face looks shocked. "What is it?"

She reaches up and touches my head, running her fingers through my short hair. "Why is so short?"

I grimace; I'd almost forgotten about that. "I had to cut it to fit my disguise as a man."

She looks at her own hair, which reaches nearly to her waist. "Oh."

"Mine was like that before, too. But it was curly, not straight."

"The color is beautiful. Like corn."

I smile and she smiles back. Maybe the savages aren't as bad as we thought…..


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N io non aquisto.**** Capisce? Okay, I am so sorry that I didn't update. I tried to write, but after like an hour, all I had was "Chapter 14" and a blinking cursor. I wasn't creative, like, at all…..So sorry! Ok, y'all probably didn't even read this, did you? No, I didn't think so….well you'll never know that I am giving out free cookies, will you? *sticks tongue out* No, I guess you won't.**

**Book of the update: Inkspell by Cornelia Funke**

Chapter 14

I jump down from the tree, landing lightly on the forest floor. Thomas is leaning against a tree, looking bored. When he sees me, he jumps and rushes over.

"Well? What did it want?" he demands.

I mentally grimace. This is going to sound pretty weird. "Okay, this is going to sound pretty odd, but just listen. Please?" he nods. "Okay, so that tree- well, the face in the tree, anyway- is my grandmother, Grandmother Willow, from back in England. I'm not really sure ho, but she's also a tree. Get it?" he stares at me, mouth hanging open. "Yeah….me neither."

After a few moments, he regains his composure. "Who else was there then? I heard voices, like four actually."

"Wow, Thomas. You heard voices. Should I be concerned?"

"Haha, but seriously, who else was there?"

"Me, the tree, and….this is where it gets really weird and you're going to have to trust me and my judgment. Do you?" hesitantly, he nods. "Okay. The other voice was a girl. A savage girl."

His face turns dark, but he says nothing.

"Thomas? You said that you trusted me, remember? Hello, Thomas?"

"I'm here." He says quietly. He closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his head slightly. "Alright, I trust you. It's just…a bit hard to digest, if you know what I mean." He takes another deep breath, and a thought seems to hit him. "But…I heard four voices….that was only three."

As if on cue, the voice of one of the men comes creeping over to Thomas and me, saving my butt.

**(A/N The fourth voice was Arielle's girl voice. In case you're slow. Like me. ;P)**

"Oi! Get over 'ere! We got work ta' do!"

Quickly as children scolded for peeking into the cookie jar, we rush over and pick up the tool. I mentally groan. More digging. We're never going to find any gold this way; we _should_ be working on getting our lodgings and supplies ready.

**A/N well…..that was short. Next few chapters will be wrapping it up, but they'll be better than this. Promise.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N io non aquisto. ****Capisce?**

**Book of the update: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan**

Chapter 15

We're walking back to the camp in a comfortable silence when Thomas suddenly turns and looks at me. "What did you call the tree again? Your grandmother, what's her name?"

That stops me in my tracks. I frantically spin through my memories, trying to recall if Arielle had ever said anything about Grandmother Willow. I draw a blank, but still try to stay on the safe side. "Why do you ask?"

"I just thought of something…"

"What?"

"Oh, well, I had a…..friend back in England, and her Grandmother's name sounded a lot like the name you said a while back, I think."

"Thomas? Are you…..blushing?"

His face turns even darker. "W-what? No! W-why would I be blushing? I was just talking about my friend…" he's now the color of a ripe tomato.

"Just tell me what you said."

"Umm….I call her Grandmother Willow." I hear myself say. _Dang it!_

His eyes go wide. "Do you, perchance, know a girl named Arielle?"

Now it's _my_ eyes that go wide. "Umm….the name sounds familiar…."

His eyebrows scrunch together; whether in frustration or suspicion, I can't tell. "Well, it's a lot like yours."

"Oh! Whaddaya know?! It is!" I laugh nervously.

"Mmmhmmm. You know something about my friend? She's a really bad liar, like you. Are you sure that you're not related or something?" he sounds serious, and I almost laugh out loud. Men are so thick-headed.

"Umm, yeah. I think I've got a cousin named Arielle. Yeah, that's my cousin Jacques' sister, that's it!"

He seems to buy it. "Oh, okay then."

As he walks on ahead of me again, I have to cover my mouth to stop from laughing out loud. He's so oblivious.

Someone banging on my tent wakes me up, but there's no light to be found.

"Who is it?" I moan, my face still buried in my arms.

A face pushes through the tent flap, flooding moonlight over my closed eyelids. "Get up. I want to talk to you."

"Thomas, it's not even daylight yet. Go back to sleep."

"No! I have to ask you something!"

"Can't it wait?"

"No! It'll just take a minute!"

I finally look up at him, my short hair standing on end. "What?"

"Are you Arielle?"

"What?!" I'm definitely awake now.

He just looks at me. "Are you Arielle?"

"What, no! I told you, we're-"

"cousins. Yeah, I know." He mutters, sounding slightly frustrated.

"Thomas, I think you need more sleep. Go back to bed." _And let me sleep!_ I add in my head.

He doesn't. Instead, he creeps into the tent and stops inches away from my face, staring into my eyes. Half of me is about to strangle him for waking me up, but the other half is getting sort of worried….

"You are Arielle!" he suddenly says, "I can see it in your eyes!"

I open my mouth to protest, but only silence ensues. Thomas reaches out and touches my hair. "Oh my gosh…I can't believe…..no, I can. You did it for freedom, no? That's what you always said; the ship was freedom. You even asked if you could come along, and I still was too stupid to realize that you actually had come!"

"You aren't mad, are you?"

He chuckles lightly. "Mad? Why would I be mad? How _could_ I be mad?"

"I'm guessing you want to keep this a secret?" I nod. "I promise not to tell anyone."

"Thank you, Thomas."

"You're welcome, Arielle. I still can't believe how stupid I've been!"

"I can!"


	16. Chapter 16

__**A/N io non aquisto. Capisce?**

**Book of the update: Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan**

Chapter 16

The men are all gathered by the fire, boasting about their adventures and "heroic deeds"-most of which are made up. Thomas and I stand a little ways away, talking.

"Do you regret it? Running away to the ship, I mean."

I think for a moment. "No. I don't regret it. I do sometim-" the faint cracking of leaves steals my attention away from Thomas.

I look over to the edge of the fence, where the sound came from.

John Smith looks to the left and then back to the right, then slowly and quietly creeps past the gateway in the fence. Thomas and I look at each other, bewildered. What on earth would John be doing outside the settlement this late at night?

A gruff voice makes us turn. "Follow him," Governor Radcliffe says, shoving a musket into Thomas's hands. The expression on his face is so ruthless and cold that we don't even try to protest of defend John. Thomas stutters out a "Yes sir. Absolutely sir."

We follow him to the place where Grandmother Willow's tree lives, and I put my hand to my mouth to hide the gasp. John Smith and the native girl, Pocahontas, are standing in the moonlight, pressed tightly together, lips locked. An angry-sounding cry rings out from somewhere in the trees, followed by an Indian warrior.

Pocahontas and John Smith break apart at the sound. "Cocoum! Leave him alone!"Pocahontas cries out.

The Indian ignores her, instead launching himself at John and presses a crude knife to his throat.

"Cocoum!"

Thomas aims his gun, but I place my hand on his arm. "Don't shoot!" _If a life can be spared today, then let it happen_, I silently pray as I run over to where John is just barely keeping the blade off of his throat.

My feet send my flying off of the ground and into Cocoum. We tumble off of Smith and onto some jagged rocks by the riverbed. He screams in pain and holds tight to his arm.

More of the Indians run from the trees, yelling and shouting about Pocahontas and Cocoum and John and I. They crowd around Cocoum, and a few of them pick him up gently and lead him into the forest.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Pocahontas shove Smith towards the trees, murmuring something into his ear as he passes.

The three Indians grab my arms and pull me away; towards their village, I suppose.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

I wriggle around, trying to get the bonds on my hands to be more comfortable.

Pocahontas walks into the teepee and kneels in front of me. Silence surrounds us for a moment or two.

"I am sorry," she finally says.

"For what?"

"It is my fault you are here"

"No. It's mine, I was being dumb." she smiles faintly. "So...you and John Smith got a thing going on?"

Her cheeks begin to turn red. "That is not important. My father believes that your people want war on us, and he says that tomorrow, we will sound the drums of war."

The teasing smile drops from my face at her words. "The governor has been looking for an excuse almost the entire time to wage war on _your_ people. He believes that you're hiding the gold. We've already told him there's none, but…" I shrug.

She frowns. "But….I told John that we have no gold. Not that I have seen, anyway."

"Radcliffe doesn't believe a word of it, the stupid pig."

"Who is…Radcliffe?"

I smile at her pronunciation of the name. "He's kind of our leader, but no one really likes him."

She nods, and another silence fills the small space inside my "prison". And idea strikes me, and if I could, I would hit myself for not thinking of it sooner. "We can stop the battle. If we work together, we can do this."

Pocahontas looks doubtful. "How?"

"Come closer." She leans over, and I begin to whisper my genius plan in her ear.

I hear her through the walls of the tent, and I have to admit, her acting I very good. "…..Father, may I have your permission to leave the camp to fetch my basket? I left it in the cornfield earlier."

"Yes, daughter, but beware the white men." I can almost see her gritting her teeth to stop herself from saying that she was in love with one of them, and friends with another. The crinkle of leaves tell me that she's gone.

Just like she thought, her father immediately ordered someone to check on the prisoner. A burly man without a shirt came in and pressed his face so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my nose. He leaned back and nodded, seeming satisfied.

He strode out and mumbled something incoherent to the chief.

I know that they won't check on me again in any hurry, so I slip Pocahontas's knife from my sleeve and begin to work at the rope binding my hands to the pole. As soon as they're loose enough, I pull my wrists apart and slowly stand up, lifting the fur walls and slipping into the dark night.

I meet Pocahontas at the agreed spot in the cornfield and we check over our plan once more for any holes or 'what if's.

"I will talk to my father, and try to convince him to speak with one of your people."

"Great. I'm gonna get Thomas or John to come and be the peace negotiator; I'll also try to do something about Radcliffe." She nods and runs off, basket In hand.

As soon as I step inside the walls of our small fort, a force knocks into me and arms wrap around my waist. I stiffen and instinctively reach for my gun, but stop and relax when I realize that it's only Thomas.

"I thought…I thought that you were _dead_," he whispers against my ear.

"I'm not," I say with a slight laugh.

He pulls back to look me in the eyes, then does the most unexpected thing yet. He kisses me. Right on my lips. I close my eyes and lean into him, and bury my face in his chest once it's over. Then I see John Smith out of the corner of my eye, staring in disbelief.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N io non aquisto. ****Capisce?**

**Book of the update: Eldest by Christopher Paolini**

**P.S. So sorry I didn't update! No excuses, just an apology. I realized lately that I've got an excuse for everything…... :/**

Chapter 17

"Oh great," I grumble, pulling out of Thomas's embrace. His face is bright red, and I'm sure mine is just the same color. I begin to walk towards John but he turns and "casually" walks the other way, obviously trying to flee what will absolutely be an awkward conversation. I speed up and catch him by the arm.

"John-"

He cuts me off. "Ari, I really don't want to know. Your personal life is none of my business, and if you and Thomas wish to….."

"I'll explain that later, but right now, there's something more important to talk about." He leans forward slightly, seeming to brace himself for bad news. "You need to speak with the Indian chief. Pocahontas is convincing him to see you, and you must go! If you don't, there'll be war between the two races. Do you really want to do that? Do you really want to have bloodshed in the first half-year we've been here?"

He blinks slowly, trying to comprehend what I've just said. "How...how do you know about Pocahontas?"

I very nearly reach up and strangle him. All of the important things in that message, and _that's_ the thing he understands? Men...

"That's not the problem here; GO SPEAK TO THE INDIAN CHIEF. NOW." I spoke the words as if I were talking to a baby, and he seems to understand this time, because he turns and walks out of the fort, grabbing his gun as he goes.

I almost run after him (why should Pocahontas's father trust him if he brings a gun to a peace negotiation?) but I stop myself and simply turn back to Thomas.

"That was very well said."

"Yeah, well it took him long enough," I grumble.

Silence fills the air for a few moments before Thomas speaks. "Are we just going to sit here and wait, or...?"

I look after John, then at Thomas, and then back to the gate. "Let's go."

"Ouch! That's my foot!"

"Careful!"

"Hey, watch out!"

"You just kicked me!"

"That's not the tree. The tree is over here."

All of these remarks are whispered (more like whisper-yelled) from under the cover of darkness and willow branches. Grandmother Willow's branches, in fact.

Thomas and I didn't want the Indian chief to think that we were a band of soldiers ready to ambush him, so we decided _not_ to follow John and watch from the bushes like stalkers.

No, we're watching from a tree about 100 yards away. Like stalkers.

Luckily, their voices are loud enough to carry over to us, and we get the gist of the conversation:

"Greetings, sir."

"Wingapo, pale-face."

"I've come to-"

"Speak of war, I know. My daughter has told me of you and your words."

"Yes, sir. We don't want to fight you. This is your land, and I admit that we've wrongfully taken it, but if we work together, I think we can both improve the way our people live their lives."

"My warriors tell me your men want to fight! That they want war and killing!"

"Not at all, sir. There is a man here-he's supposed to be our leader- who believes that you're hiding the gold from him. He is the only one among our numbers that want a fight."

"Gold? We have no gold. Tell me, what do you want?"

Silence.

"Well?" the chief prods.

"I want us to live on this land, all of us. Your people and mine. I want us to live and work _together_."

"You are wise beyond your years, pale-face. I do not wish there to be a battle, but my warriors will be hard to stop. And this man you call leader sounds the same."

Thomas and I exchange glances. I knew that one day that stubborn, fat, obnoxious pig Radcliffe would get us all into trouble, and now, he's gone and got the Indian warriors all riled up for what? Gold? There is none, and he needs to realize that. Stubborn as a mule, that one...

A sharp crack draws our attention back to the far-off clearing. I can faintly see John's outline against the moon, and he's pulled out his gun.

The Indian chief staggers back. "Why have you brought fire-sticks to this peace talk? You speak of working together and trust, and yet you carry weapons, ready to attack!"

"No, I just-"

"Traitor! The pale-faces are liars and traitors!"

"It's only if an animal or-"

"I do not wish to hear what you have to say, white man. If you want a war, then a war there will be!"

And with that, two or three warriors burst out of the bushes and grab John by the arms.

"This is all a mistake! You don't know what you're doing!"

I look at Thomas, and without another word, we're halfway down the tree, rushing to save the fate of a nation.

~~~~~~~~~_ (Savages, savages, barely even human!...How loud are the drums of war_?_!...)_~~~~~~~~~

I stand amongst the crowd, watching helplessly as the chief prepares to smash the stone into John Smith's temple, killing him. The mallet is mere inches away from his skin when a copper-colored blur covers his head with her own, long black hair obscuring her face.

The mallet stops.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N io non aquisto. ****Capisce?**

**Book of the update: the Art of War by Sun Tzu**

Chapter 18

"If you kill him, you'll have to kill me, too," the voice of Pocahontas rings out, clear and true through the trees.

"Daughter! Stand back."

"I won't! I love him, father."

Silence on both sides follows this declaration. Chief Powhatan looks shocked, and slowly leans back, lowering the wooden pole as he does.

The men from England stand in awe of this savage who not only fell in love with Smith, but placed her life on the line to save his. Guns are lowered, with bows and arrows quickly following suit.

"Look around you!" Pocahontas commands, breaking the silence. "This is where the path of hatred has brought us." The chief's eyes widen, filled now with amazement and understanding.

Her voice is almost a whisper, but somehow we all hear, even from the ground below the high rock ledge. "This is the path I choose, Father. What will yours be?"

He looks around. Down at us; guns are raised. At his warriors; bows are drawn back. A strange gust of wind brings red and purple leaves to the chief's face, and he closes his eyes, drinking in the colors of the wind.

The men around me lower their guns once more. Thomas and I look at each other, then down to the guns in our hands. Suddenly, I feel like a child caught with her hand in the jam jar- no, like a thief caught with stolen jewels in his hands. This battle must not go on.

Chief Powhatan looks at the mallet, and back to where John Smith lay, still underneath Pocahontas's ebony locks. The chief raises the staff to the sky and speaks in a clear, loud voice that can be heard from every corner of the woods.

"My daughter speaks with the wisdom beyond her years. We have all come here with anger in our hearts, but she comes with courage and understanding. From this day forward, if there is to be more killing, it will not start with me." Pocahontas and John Smith raise their heads, smiling at each other. "Release him," the chief says, turning to a warrior standing behind him.

The man steps forward and cuts John's bonds with a crude knife. Pocahontas falls into John Smith's arms and he holds her tightly to his chest.

Weapons everywhere are released or lowered and everyone stares in awe at the spectacular couple in front of them. One person, a _woman_, had just saved an entire nation from war. I stood up a bit straighter, proud of this girl.

A rough, growling voice makes me turn my head, "Now's our chance! Fire!"

Governor Radcliffe holds his bayonet high in the air, obviously expecting the rest of us to follow him.

"No! They let him go!" Thomas steps forward, trying to stop him.

"Yeah, they don't want to fight!"

Radcliffe turns, and there's an insane look in his eyes as he says, "It's a trick, don't you see? Fine! I'll settle it myself!"

"No!" I lunge forward at just the same time the shot rings through the air, missing Radcliffe by not even an inch.

The world seems to slow down as the bullet whistles through the air, right towards Chief Powhatan. John Smith's eyes widen and he moves, shoving the Indian chief to the ground and taking the bullet for him.

He crumples, and reality hits us like a slap in that face, bringing with it the loud screams and noises that seemed to have stopped just for that one crucial moment.

"JOHN!"

There is silence for a moment, until Thomas turns to Radcliffe, who's looking uncomfortable. "You shot him!"

"It...It was his own fault! He stepped right into it!" his nose points to the sky and it makes my blood boil that he can still claim innocence after he shot a man. Not just any man-a man under his own command.

"John was right; we never should've listened to you."

"Get him!"

The men form a mob, jumping on the governor. I hold back a laugh as the bodies all struggling form a blur and next thing I know, Radcliffe is tied up with rope from somewhere.

"Put 'im in chains!" Thomas says, laughing.

"Grrrr...I'll get you for this! All of you! Traitors!"

"And gag him as well!" I add in.

**(A/N I just realized that in the movie, they're all laughing and attacking the big fat guy, but they like, forgot about John-who's dying? Fail, Disney. Fail.)**

John grimaces, but has yet to make any noise besides the occasional word or two. He's holding up pretty well for having a bullet in his side. The bandages are already faintly turning red around the wound.

Thomas walks up behind me. "The sooner he gets back to England, the better."

"Well, let's hope the wind is with him," I say, looking up at the clouds blowing across the sky. "Is the ship ready yet?"

Mark walks by and answers, "Yep. Just loadin' the last bit 'a cargo," while jerking his thumb towards where Governor Radcliffe is being tossed into a lifeboat to tow onto the ship.

"Untie me a' onch! I'w ave your 'eads for 'is!" the mangled words somehow make it past the gag in his mouth. A smirk stretches across my face as I watch him roll about, trying to free himself.

Thomas turns to John. "Ship's almost ready; we better get you on board."

"No. Not yet. She promised she'd be here," he manages to breathe out.

"Look," I whisper, pointing towards the mist-covered trees behind us. The faint outline of bodies can be seen-many. They come closer, and I see that they're Indian women carrying baskets. Baskets full of gold-colored food and vegetables. At their head is Pocahontas.

She walks towards John, and the men part to make a path.

"He'll die if he stays here," whispers Thomas, and she turns and touches his shoulder, sorrow clear in her eyes.

She kneels by John and hands him a small package. "It's from Grandmother Willow's bark. It'll help with the pain."

He grimaces, but quickly covers it up with a smile. "What pain? I've had worse pain than this..." he grimaces again, "Can't think of any right now."

Miko and the dog-Percy, I think-walk up, holding a necklace between their paws.

"My mother's necklace." Pocahontas ties it around her neck.

John reaches out a hand and ruffles Percy's fur. "See ya' Percy." He looks at Pocahontas, and at the unshed tears in her eyes. "Come with me?"

She turns to her father, and he looks at Smith for a moment. "You must choose your own path, my daughter."

She turns back to John, and I murmurs words too quiet for anyone but them to hear. His voice as he replies is firm and loud, though: "Then I'll stay with you."

"No. You have to go back."

More quiet murmurings, and I begin to feel like an intruder on this scene of affection between the two lovers. One last goodbye kiss, and Pocahontas is back with her people, standing where she belongs as a leader.

Her father walks over and takes off his warm fur coat, placing it over John. A simple article of clothing, but it means so much more- a peace offering between the two peoples, a farewell, a "thank-you for saving my life" gift, and the mark of a leader, given to the pale-faces as a sign of trust and thanks.

A few men pick up the makeshift stretcher and carry John out to a waiting boat to take him to the ship.

"Good luck, man."

"Godspeed, John."

When the mist finally obscures our vision of the ship, sailing back to England, Pocahontas turns and runs into the woods. A few moments later, her outline can be seen against the pale sky, staring after the ship. Staring after John Smith.

**A/N the movie ends now, but I think that this story will have at least a few more chapters. **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N Me no own Pocahontas. Or Thomas or John or those nameless guys with the Scottish accents.**

**Book of the update: The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan**

Chapter 19

I stand, waving with the rest of the men when something grabs my wrist and yanks me back into the woods.

"What the-" a hand over my mouth stops me there.

"Shhh, we don't want them to know we're here," says a familiar voice.

I pull his hand off my mouth and turn to face Thomas. "You scared me there for a moment," I admit with a breathy little laugh.

He grins. "I managed to scare Arielle LeClair? That's impressive."(**A/N before, she said her name was Ari Williams. FAKE NAME. Just like Ari isn't her real name...sort of.) **

"Shut up," I say, even though I'm laughing. "What did you drag me back here for?"

"I, uh...I wanted to ask you something."

Silence.

"Well, what is it? Come on, spit it out," I say, getting a bit annoyed.

"Are you ever going to tell who you really are?"

"What? You know that I can't do that! I'll be sent back, I'll be hanged, _anything_ could happen! Why would you even ask that?"

An oddly nervous expression crosses over Thomas's face, but he takes a deep breath and says, "If you revealed who you were," he pauses.

"Yes?"

He moves a bit closer to me. "If you revealed who you were, we could get married. We could live here, in the New World, _together_."

My breath hitches and when I speak, my voice comes out in a whisper. "Are you...asking me to marry you?" The answer is in his eyes. "Me? You want to marry _me_?"

"Yes," he breathes. I look up, and he's not even an inch away from me-when did that happen? I don't know...the world seems to have slowed down now, time moving like honey. "I love you, Arielle. I have ever since I saw you the first time, with your feet dangling over the branch of that tree. Will you marry me?"

My mouth opens and closes a few times, like a fish out of water, before I can finally form the words. "I-"

A scream cuts me off, and I turn my head. What I see makes my jaw drop.

A whole horde of people are running from the trees opposite us, practically stampeding each other to get to the beach. They aren't Indians; they're like _us_- even wearing clothing in the style of England quite a while back. Women, elders, men, even a few children, are all running out of the forest and onto the sand.

Thomas and I step out of the trees, trying to stop them.

Some of the elders go so far as to splash into the water, looking after the ship with desperation.

William, one of the men who came with us on the journey, pulls out his (unloaded) gun and shouts at the top of his lungs, "OI! STOP RUNNIN', THE LOT A' YOU!"

It takes a moment before anyone reacts, and at first I think that they must not understand us. Then a man parts through the sea of people and stops before William.

The man is tall and muscular, creating an impressive figure, and with faint French accent. "Who among you is leader?"

_Well, that would've been Radcliffe...no, Thomas, but they're both gone now._ William turns to Thomas, pulling him to the front.

"Thomas Jones. But first, may I ask who you are, and...How you got here?" Thomas says, his strong accent becoming stronger in his confusion.

"Oh yes! I'm sorry; we've been her so long that we've forgotten how to properly be polite. I am Andre LeClair, leader of this colony, I believe we were once called Roanoke, but we've never been able to return to England for supplies, and have been living like the natives here."

At the mention of his name, my eyes widened and Thomas snuck a glance at me from the corner of his eye, but then turned back and smiled at Andre...hadn't that been my father's name? And his surname...

"I want to apologize for the way these colonists have acted, and that we may have startled you. We were all hoping that maybe your ship was bringing supplies, and could take some of us with it back to England, or if our two settlements could work together and share our knowledge and supplies."

Thomas was in complete shock. "Did you say...Roanoke? But...everyone from that colony went missing _years_ ago!"**(A/N if you don't know the history behind Roanoke, look it up or just go along with this ****MADE-UP**** stuff I'm using for the story. Kay?)**

"Dead? No, we had to move our settlements to a new place, now called Roanoke Island, leaving a message in the bark of a tree for our leader, who had gone back to England, to find."

"Yeah, he came back and said he never found you, before returning to England. Everyone assumed you'd all been attacked and ran off to die somewhere." I wince; not very subtle, is he?

Andre and the people just gape at him. "So...um, yeah, we can work together. Right, boys?" Thomas turns to ask us, and is met with a chorus of "sure"s and "absolutely"s and "yup"s.

Thomas smiles at Andre, but all I can do is stare at the man who had once been never coming back. My father.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N I am getting so sick of writing this. Can't you understand English?! I AM NOT WALT DISNEY (R.I.P.)**

**Book of the update: Gone With the Wind by Marguerite Mitchell**

Chapter 20

After the initial shock, the men seem to be getting along well with the Roanoke people. I'm still a bit wary of them, not for who they are, but for who their leader is. I'm not sure if I'm worried that he will recognize me, or that he won't, or maybe I just don't know what to think. He left when I was very young, and never returned. I hardly remember him or my mother, who died soon after.

A hand grasps my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts and making me turn. When I do, I find myself looking into the deep bluish-green eyes of my father. I lower my head a bit, trying to hide the undoubtedly shocked expression on my face.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Uhh...Ari Williams, sir," I said, trying to deepen my voice. A small part of me was still hoping that he _would_ recognize me, so that I could follow the urge to wrap my arms around his neck and cry onto his shoulder as if I were a small child again.

"Well Ari, have any of the men here come from France, specifically Calais?"

"I have family in France, sir."

"You do? Then perhaps you know of my family?"

"I-I might. LeClair was the name, no?"

"Yes. My wife was English, Lillian LeClair, and my two children, Jacques and Arielle. And...We had another son, little Willie, who died before I left for this New World."

I was speechless. Not only did he remember us and miss us, he even said Willie's name. He would have been almost 26 now. 2 years older than Jacques and 9 years older than me.

I'd been silent for so long that Andre seemed to have gotten worried. "Well? Do you know them? Are they alright?"

"Yes, sir. I know them. Jacques and Arielle live in England with their Aunt and Uncle now, but...your wife died. Not too long after the news of the missing colony came to France. I'm so sorry, sir."

He stumbles back as if I had struck him. "This...This can't be true! Not my Lillian...no..." his voice fades off as his eyes begin to fill with unshed tears and he sinks to the ground. "Not my Lillian..." his head falls into his hands, loud tears slipping through his fingers. I stretch out my hand, wanting to comfort him but unsure how. I've never had a father before. And one who doesn't know who I am is definitely a first.

The womanly side of me wins out and I slide down to the ground next to Andre and awkwardly put my hand on his shoulder.

We sit there for a while, the only sound Andre's loud sobbing, but he finally quiets down and raises his head. His head are red and puffy and he sniffs a bit before speaking. "Was it peaceful?"

I nod quietly. He sniffs again before standing up. "Thank you," he says, once more calm and collected. I smile at him and watch as he walks away.

I stand up and begin to walk towards him, but my feet stop. I can't do it. What if he rejects me? What if he's ashamed that I disguised myself as a man? What if he doesn't believe me? What if he doesn't' care? What if-

"Hey. You okay? You look like you're about to cry," Thomas says, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning his chin on my shoulder.

I turn to face him. "Thomas...that's my _father_. And I'm here, like _this_. What if he doesn't want me to be his daughter? What if he's ashamed? What if he-"

His finger on my lips cuts me off. "Shhh. It'll be okay. You don't have to tell him now if you don't want to. And he's your father; he has to love you."

I blink, trying to rid my eyes of the tears blurring my vision. "But what if he doesn't?" a salty drop slips out of my eye and falls down my cheek, but Thomas wipes it away before it can fall.

"It's okay. Don't cry, Arielle; it'll all be okay. I promise."

I laugh a little bit and wipe my eyes. "I don't know why I'm crying. You're right. He's my father, and he has to love me...that's just the way things work." I feel a dampness on my cheeks as I finish what I was saying, and rub my palm against my face, trying to get rid of the incriminating tears.

Strong arms wrap around me and pull me close, letting me cry on his shoulder. "Shhh. It's alright. It'll be alright."

We stand there for who know how long, me crying on his shoulder in plain sight of anyone who happened to glance over. I pull back. "Someone could see. I should go...somewhere. I don't know where..."

"Let me come with you. I know just the place," Thomas says, pulling me with him by my wrist as he walks off into the trees.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," he says, stopping. The first thing that I notice is _color_. Everywhere; pink, yellow, green, purple, blue, red...flowers of every color surround me, blowing softly in the wind.

"Oh my gosh...this is...beautiful! Thomas, how did you find this?"

I look at him and he smiles. "I was walking the other day and I saw it, right when the sun was rising. The sky was all orange and pink and the flowers were practically glowing. I thought you might like it."

I spin around for a while before finally just falling into the flowers onto my back, laughing. Thomas soon joins me.

"Okay, so why are we here?"

He shrugs. "I don't know; just to enjoy it, I guess."

I smile. "Alright."

We lay there for quite some time, letting the wind blow over our faces and pointing out the occasionally butterfly fluttering by.

"Arielle?"

"Hmm?"I ask, my eyes still closed.

"Do you remember what I said, earlier?"

I open my eyes. I hadn't forgotten; it's just sort of fallen to the back of my mind in all the excitement of the day. "Yes, I remember."

He sits up and looks down at me. "I meant it, you know." I sit up, folding my legs opposite him. "I really want to marry you."

I don't say anything, but I'm pretty sure my mouth opens a bit; it feels strange to hear him say that...he's said it before, but...

"Oh gosh, Arielle! This isn't a proper proposal at all! I'm sorry. Here, you stand up..." he kneels down and holds up a white lily-flower. "Er-I haven't got a ring," he says, apologetically. My hands go to my mouth, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. "Umm...Arielle LeClair. I love you. Like I said before, I have ever since I saw you at the party, outside in a tree with your shoes on the ground. And then I was stupid enough not to ask your hand back in England, but then I realized that you were here! And I just...I love you. Will you marry me?"

"...No."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N I don't own Pocahontas. Promise.**

**P.S. Sorry that the different "scenes" always seem smushed; FFN keeps deleting my page breaks. Any suggestions on how to keep them? Also, sorry for not updating, but life's been kinda hectic, what with exams and Christmas and all. Merry Christmas to anyone who's reading this!**

**Book of the update: Bluestar's Prophecy by Erin Hunter**

Chapter 21

His smile drops. "Wh...What?"

I slide my hand out of his, the lily flower falling limply to the ground. "I can't marry you, Thomas." He just stares at me blankly, his hands still held out. "Don't you understand?! I just...I just can't!" the last words are punctuated with loud sobs escaping. I turn away from him, trying to rid my face of the salty tears. "I just can't," I whisper. And then my feet begin to move. I walk away, without ever looking back.

The smooth bark of Grandmother Willow's tree presses against my arms in a sort of embrace. I sniff, wiping my nose with the back of my hand.

A copper-colored arm reaches through the branches, soon followed by the rest of Pocahontas. "Why do you cry?"

I sniff again. "I just did something that really hurt someone I care about- and me, as well."

"Why do you do it if it makes you sad?"

"I had to-we would never have worked out. I wouldn't ruin his name like that...but I wanted to. I wanted to say yes with all of my heart..."

"Why did you not?"

"Because I couldn't! I can't!"

"Why?" she asks again.

"Because I couldn't! I already told you!"

She nods. "You did. But that does not mean I have to believe you."

"If you don't believe me, that's not my problem," I huff, folding my arms.

She smiles knowingly. "You are only lying to yourself. Why did you say no?"

"It's all just too confusing right now. I'm here, like this, and I just met my father, and my brother isn't here...it's just too much going on right now to even think about that."

She nods. "Should you be telling this to me or to someone else...?"

"No, I just...ugh! Never mind; you wouldn't understand anyways!"

"Mmmhhmmm. And what about your father? You have found a way to tell him? Will you tell him at all?"

I sigh, blowing my lips out and making a _ppphhhppphh_ sound. "I don't even know. I'm just...I'm just really overwhelmed, that's all."

**A/N sorry for the sucky chapter; It'll be better after the holidays...I'm sort of rushing right now...**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Io non aquisto. Capisce?**

**P.S. I'm so sorry for not updating, my internet's been out forever….and I had writer's block -_- Anyways, Happy New Year's to y'all and blah blah blah. And this chapter may be a little too old for readers under….9 or 10 probably.**

Chapter 22

Angry, I storm over to Sean, who's holding a bottle of rum. "Gimme that," I say, yanking the bottle out of his hand. Tipping it back, I take a few good long swigs before belching loudly and wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

The men sitting around the campfire stare in shock as their "innocent little Virgin Mary", as they teasingly called me, chugs down a god amount of alcohol and stumbles off towards the woods, bottle in hand.

I plop down onto a mossy log, the almost empty rum bottle still gripped tightly in my hand, drunk off my…_butt_. Footsteps crunch in the grass behind me and I lean back my head to look at whoever it is.

"Oh, hello, _Andre_," I drawl, my words slurring together.

His eyes widen and the corner of his mouth twitches up in either disgust or laughter. "Hello, Mr. Williams. Are you erm…..alright?"

"Why do you care, Mr. Fancy Pants Frenchie?" I stand up, grabbing Andre's arm to steady myself. As I take a step, my boot crunches on something-glass. The bottle broke…..when did that happen?

"Ari, I think that you need to just….sit down…"

"NO!" I yell, roughly shoving his arm away. "No. I am perfectly fine, sir….."

He seems a bit wary now, but gently takes my arm nonetheless. "Ari, sit down, alright?"

"No…._you_ can't tell me what to do! You don't even…hiccup….don't even know what my_ name_ is! So there!"

"I do know what your name is, you're Ari Williams ad you're drunk as a lord. Now sit down," he commands.

"No. Nope. No way, not sittin' down today! Hahaha nope!"

"Ari, you need to go and sleep this off; you can't even speak right anymore! You're talking like a girl. So let's get you back to your tent and we'll all be alright, okay?"

"Hahahaha, of _course_ I sound like a girl; that's okaaaaaay, mister. It's very okay. Very," my voice got serious. "I am a girl." The expression on Andre's face added to my state of mind at the moment made me break my 'serious as the grave' façade. "Hahahahahaha…..ha!"

He sighed. "Now you're not even talking sense. How much of that rum did you drink anyway?"

"You don't believe me! I am, I am, I am a girl! I'm your girl!" suddenly, the bit of deer that I ate earlier seems to be making its way back up. I lean over and hurl onto the grass, wiping the drips off of my chin. "Andre, am I dying?"

His mouth is open and his eyes are stunned. "You….you must really be that drunk, boy."

"I'VE TOLD YOU; I'M NOT A BOY! I AM ARIELLE LECLAIR AND PROUD OF IT!"

Andre's face is slowly turning a reddish-purple color. "How dare you- you idiotic-"

I leaned in real close to his face. "Thomas will tell you. Thomas knows. Thomas….." and suddenly I was on the floor, with my eyelids slowly blacking out my vision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PAGE BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up to a pounding in my head and a cool wetness on my eyelids. "Mmmm…."I pull off the washrag and open my eyes, moaning at the harsh light. When my eyes finally adjust, a face comes into view. A worried face. Thomas's worried face. "Wh…where am I? Why does my head hurt?"

He gently pushes me back onto the ground. "Arielle…..what am I going to do with you?"

I hold my arms out. "You're going to hold me. And be quiet, because I feel like there's a giant stepping on my brain." He smiles and, without a word, pulls me up and wraps his arms around me.

The tent flap is pulled open and Thomas looks up, shoving m out of his arms and back onto my butt. "Ow! What the heck was that for?"

He ignores me. "Mr. LeClair," he says politely, nodding towards the figure at the tent flap.

Andre just nods, looking at me. "Hello, Arielle."

I look at Thomas, sending a message with my eyes: _he knows?_

He sighs and answers, out loud, "Yes. You told him."

"Yes, you did. I'm afraid you were a bit intoxicated last night; you'll have quite the headache today," Andre puts in.

"So you…..you know?" bracing myself for rejection from my newfound father, I close my eyes for a moment, but when I open them, I see arm closing around me. Andre's arms.

"You have no idea how much I love you. My daughter, Arielle."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N Io non aquisto. Capisce?**

**Book of the update: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo**

**P.S. Sorry for not updating, but I've had things with theatre and school and my dog had a thing and…..yah. Say hello to life, which comes before FFN (no offense…). **

**And also, for the sake of the story, pretend that a significant amount of time has passed since the ship bearing an injured John Smith left the New World. And for the record, I've already destroyed any semblance to history in this story, so *shrugs* it's all good, right?**

Chapter 23

"So, the ship's supposed to be coming back from England this week? Just to bring back supplies, or do you think that some of the Roanoke people could sail back with the ship if they chose? They'd bring their own water and food from here, of course," I say to Thomas as we walk.

"I'm sure it would be fine; why don't you go and tell Andre to ask the people who wants to go."

"Alright." The whole group sort of appointed me as "ambassador" to the Roanoke people since the whole incident a few weeks back with my father, a bottle of rum, and an awfully bad headache. Only Thomas and I, Andre as well of course, knew the truth; the rest of the men just thought that I was a very sociable, likeable person.

"Andre!" I call out, my hand cupped around my mouth for more sound. "Andre!"

"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" he says from somewhere off in the trees. His accent always becomes stronger when he yells. I smile, thinking that not even a few weeks ago, I didn't have a father, and now, I know even these simple things about him.

"What is it?" he asks when he finally reaches me.

"Thomas told me to tell you that the ship will be returning soon, and your people are free to join on the ride back to England if they bring food and water from here. He just wanted me to tell you."

Andre smiles saying, "That would be _incroyable_. Perfect. I shall tell them now; I'm sure many will take you up on that offer. And Arielle," he adds as I turn to leave, "Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too, Andre," I reply, giving him a hug before leaving. There is one more person who might like to know…..

"The ship will come back?" asks the copper-colored princess. I nod, and she smiles. "John Smith will come back?"

"That's what I came to tell you!" I squealed. "He's probably better by now and he'll be on that ship if he is! Aren't you excited?"

She slowly unfolds her legs and stands up. "When is the ship coming?"

"I don't really know. Thomas said sometime this week…"

She slowly lets a smile creep onto her face and I laugh. "It's about time; I thought you weren't excited there for a minute! I was about to call a medic to see what was wrong with you!" I laugh.

"No, I am excited," she says, laughing along with me as she climbs up the tree branch. "I hope the ship is here soon," her voice sounds wistful and sad and she stares off towards the horizon, "I miss him."

PAGE BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~page break~~~~~~~~~~PAGE BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~page break~~~~~~~  
"Arielle! Arielle! Arielle, wake up! Arielle!" I jump up, gasping as something-more like _somebody_- pounces on me, successfully waking me up and knocking my wind out. "Oh, sorry. I forgot how _delicate_ you were," Thomas teases, getting off of me.

"Delicate…..I'll show you delicate…..one a' these days I swear I'm gonna…." I sigh. "What do you want?"

"The ship's here!"

"It's here?" now I'm wide awake. I jump up and grab Thomas's hand, pulling him up with me and out of the tent and through the gate and past the trees and onto the beach and into the nook where the Roanokes lived and straight in front of my father's hut.

"Andre! Andre, the ship's here!"

A crowd of people surround Thomas and me, all showing me their baskets full of crops and barrels of water and asking about the ship. "Alright! Alright! Thomas will be glad to answer any questions you have," I shut, gesturing to the boy beside me and quickly slipping through a gap in the mob.

I run to the spot where Grandmother Willow's tree lay and quickly wave hello before scaling the branches to the very top where I knew Pocahontas would be. "Do you want to come down to the each and wait with everyone?"

She looks at me, but her face is etched with worry, not excitement. "What if John Smith is not on the ship?"

"Then he's still in England," I respond bluntly. "Look, if he's there, that's great and all, but if he's not….so what? Move on with life; don't live just to wait for him."

She looks out at the ship once more. "Strange clouds….."She turns back and begins to climb down. "Aren't you coming, Arielle?"

We race through the trees, laughing and giggling. At the edge of the trees, I stop while she continues on. Taking a deep breath, I compose myself. I've been slipping lately, now that Thomas, Pocahontas, and Andre know my secret, but I need to keep up the façade or people will begin to suspect that there's something a bit off about Ari Williams.

Someone hollers from the shore, "There it is! Papa, it's the ship!" the voice sounds like a little boy or girl, and it's soon overrun by the shouting and talking of the people gathered there.

I step out of the trees into the crowd, cheering and yelling with the rest of them. A hand grabs my bicep and I look over to see Thomas, mouthing something over the din.

"What?" I holler, "I can't understand you!"

He points towards the water. "Help….em g….off…e ship!" is what I heard, but I get the message: _let's help them get off the ship_.

"Ok," I mouth, showing him a thumbs up and following him as he leads the way to the water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PAGE BREAK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oi! Toss that down, will you?" I holler up at Ben, holding a big crate of fabrics and other things we haven't figured out how to make yet. He nods and pushes the crate over the side. I catch it with an "oomph" and pass it on to the man nearest me. "Take that back to the fort, please? Thanks."

Climbing up the rope ladder on the side of the ship, I haul myself up over the edge of the ship and make my way to the captain's quarters. After all, I am the ambassador to the Roanoke people; it's my duty to ask the captain if he'll take on the extra passengers. I knock on the door with my knuckles. "Captain?"

"Yes? Whatever do you want, sir?" sneers a voice from behind me. I spin around to see a stuck-up looking man examining me with one of those eyeglass thingys. A monompoly? Monocup? Ah, monocle, that's it. "Well?" he says again.

"Oh, sorry. I was looking for the captain…?"

"I am the captain."

Alright then. I already don't like this man. "Well, _Captain_, I was wondering if perhaps you could take on a few extra passengers? You see, we recently found...the people of the Roanoke colony, and some of them wish to return to Europe."

"B-but that is preposterous! The Roanoke people have been missing for _years_!"

I sigh; this is going to take some explaining. "Yes, I'm sure we can tell the story gain at a later date, but would you take them on board for the journey back?"

"I…well, of course! And I actually have a proposal for you and the people of Jamestown. In a year or so, we were thinking about sending women and children over to this New World, to start families and get the country growing, but some of the people back in Europe are a bit…skeptical. I believe that it would help if a few of the Jamestown people came back with us to tell about the land and the way it is to live here."

"Well…I mean, I suppose I could ask-"

"Wonderful! The ship leaves at noon tomorrow," he cuts me off.

Well then. I guess I'll see who volunteers…


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N Io non aquisto. Capisce?**

**I'm terribly sorry for not updating recently, but I seem to have caught a very severe case of writers block… :/**

**Book of the Update: Heidi by Johanna Spyri**

Chapter 24

I nod to the captain (ugh…) and exit the cabin, going straight for the edge of the ship. I lean on the rail, balancing precariously on the edges of my feet to look down at the men in the water. "Oi! Thomas!"

He looks up, using his free hand to shield his eyes from the sun while the other firmly grasps a rope trailing from somewhere on deck. "Wha'?" he yells back, his accent cutting off the "t" in the word.

"You got a minute?" he turns to a man standing relatively close to him and gestures to the rope, obviously asking something. I pull myself back onto the ship and make my way over to the ladder leading off, landing with a splash in the thigh-deep water.

He sloshes over to me, a huge cheesy smile on his face, dimples making him look younger. "Milady," he offers me his arm. I push it down, looking around worriedly, but just as soon grab his bicep and practically drag him back to the shore. "What's this about?" he asks, but I just shush him and keep walking, smiling at an old man walking nearby before stepping under the cover of the thick trees.

"Well? What is it you want?"

Now that I've dragged him all the way out here, I'm starting to think that what I'm about to ask isn't such a good idea after all… "Never mind. It's just…not important anymore. It was dumb. Never mind," I turn away my head and begin to walk back to the waves to help out once more, but a hand grabs my wrist and pulls me back.

I can feel his breath on my neck as he speaks, "Arielle. I know that you didn't drag me all the way out here just to tell me _nothing_. It must've been important. Now come on, fess up…or I might have to use other means of convincing you…" he trails off suggestively and I turn to him, shocked at what it seems he's implying, but my ideas are soon squelched when his wriggling fingers reach out and find my midsection, and I shriek out, laughing. He's tickling me, and in the absolute worst place possible. "I'm not stopping until you tell me what you came here to say!"

"Alright! Alright! I surrender! I'll tell you; just stop it and I'll tell you!" he stops and I hunch over, hands on my knees, breathing and trying to contain my giggles. "Alright, I brought you here so we could talk. Have you heard what the captain on the ship said about the extra passengers? No? anyways, he said that he'd be happy to take the Roanoke people back to England, but that he'd also like a few 'representatives' for the Jamestown colony as well. You know, to get people convinced of how great it is over here so they'll move over and we can begin to really live in the New World. And I was thinking….. Well, you see, I was thinking that perhaps we could go back? Not that I don't love it here, but I really do need to tell my family that I'm alright and I've got to sort out this whole big mess I've made for myself and I know that…I know that I'd be a bit stronger about it if you were there with me," once I got going, the words just sort of fell out of my mouth, and even the redness on my cheeks couldn't stop them from spilling right into Thomas's lap.

He doesn't respond for a moment and I turn to go, a bit discouraged, but he stops me. "Wait. Before I answer that- it really is a life changing decision, you know- I need you to tell me something."

"Anything," I answer freely, trusting him absolutely.

"Do you love me?"

My breath hitches. "Well, Thomas, I…I could never marry you; you've-"

He cuts me off, holding up a hand. "I didn't ask if you would marry me,-again- I asked do you love me?"

I look up at him, into his deep brown eyes, and I know that he's not trying to make me look a fool. All coherent thoughts seem to leave my mind as my mouth forms the words, which seem to be the only noise in this silent forest, save for our own quickened breaths. "Yes." His eyes widen and his mouth opens a bit, which soon turns into a smile; a smile which I return. "Thomas, I love you," I say when I can finally move again, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him to me. "So much…"

He pulls back a bit but just as soon presses his face closer to mine. Our noses are touching. "Arielle Maria LeClair, I love you more than anything in the world. And you are _the_ stubbornest girl I have ever met…but that only makes me love you all the more," and with that, our lips meet and he's picking me up and we're spinning, foreheads pressed together and it's just like out of a fairy story…it's just like perfect.

"And I would be honored to travel back to England with you."

"Would you go and see who else will go back to England? There's someone I need to see," I ask Thomas, feeling a bit guilty. I hadn't' even thought of Pocahontas or John Smith once since we had talked earlier. Oops.

Thomas nods understandingly and gives me a discreet kiss on the cheek before jogging off in the direction of the fort. I however, take a deep breath and turn backwards, walking deeper into the forest to meet someone who I know is hiding out in a tree somewhere instead of getting on that ship to see if a certain somebody's there, hiding away from her future.

**A/N Oh my gosh, I really am sorry for not updating, and then for this sucky chapter to make up for it, but I have spring break next week so I will hopefully be able to update a bit more regularly…..Ugh, I can't wait for summer :/**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N I am not the owner of Walt Disney, though I am the not-so-proud owner of an idiotic mind that had writers block for a good month or so -_- but a few days ago, I got a sunburn…and with that sunburn came my creativity. I don't even….**

**I would like to thank XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, as she has stuck with this story through writers block, irregular updates, and horrible chapters alike :)**

**Book of the Update: The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt**

Chapter 25

"I know you're up there," I yell up at the tree.

A few branches rustle and a blur or brown drops down to the forest floor. Pocahontas stands up, the wind blowing back her hair just perfectly. "I can't go over there. Don't make me go over there, Arielle, please," she begs, and I sigh.

"Why not?"

"But what if he's not there? What if he doesn't want to see me?"

I roll my eyes. So melodramatic. "You're going to have to sooner or later," I point out, but she just huffs and turns her head.

"I choose later."

"Come _on_!" I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her in the direction of the beach. After a few minutes of struggling and resisting, she finally gives in and lets me lead her away.

When we reach the edge of the trees, Pocahontas slows her pace and eventually comes to a stop. "I can't do this," she murmurs. I ignore it and give her a light shove towards the ship, hanging back in the shadows myself. As soon as she's within view, all eyes are on her. Most of the stares are filled with awe or reverence, but I see a few looks of confusion or distrust from those who either haven't heard of her tale or don't believe it.

Her face is a perfect mask for her emotions; she seems calm and collected as she walks down the beach and into the water. It splashes up to Pocahontas's knees and soaks the hem of her dress, but she either doesn't notice or doesn't care. A young boy on board the ship, probably about 12, runs down into the cabins when he sees her, returning a few moments later, followed by a blur of blonde hair and a silvery-blue vest that quickly disappears down a different set of steps, reappearing at the top of the gangplank that's stuck haphazardly down into the mushy sand.

Pocahontas halts and looks up at the figure. I can't see her face, but from her tense muscles, I can imagine. It feels as if the whole world is holding their breath until John breaks the silence. "Pocahontas?"

A small, strangled gasp-cry escapes her lips and before I know what's happened, they're running at each other, and John is squeezing her to him as tightly as he can without hurting her and someone's crying and even from this close, I can't tell who it is. Maybe it's both of them, or maybe it's' salt water, but all I know is that it's perfect and that every woman watching on the beach(and a few of the more romantic men) are trying to hold in their squeals of happiness right now, watching these two.

I bring my hand up to my face and let a bit of a squeak out into my fingers, but thankfully no one notices and I get to have my little happy dance moment back here in the shadows.

A hand on my shoulder makes me jump and I turn, hand over my heart. It's Thomas. "Oi!" I yell, punching him in the arm. "Why do ya' keep creeping up on me like that?!" He shrugs, smiling, but doesn't say anything. "Well?" I ask impatiently.

"Oh! Right," he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, "Umm…I can't remember now."

I laugh, "What am I going to do with you, Thomas?"

"I really have no idea."

Someone walks by, at least four feet away, but we both instantly back apart and lean casually against the trees, and when she's gone, Thomas sighs and grabs my hand. "Why can't we just stop hiding and let people think we're gay?"

I smack his hand away. "No! If you want to properly court Arielle when we get back to England, people can't think that you've been being gay with Ari! And besides, it's against the law; we'd be put in jail."

He scowls at me, but I can see the laughter in his eyes as he grudgingly bestows a chaste kiss on my cheek and walks away.

**o.o.o. weeks later.o.o.o.o.o.o**

"Now," sneered the greasy voice of the captain, "We are about to embark on a 5 month journey across the ocean. If you _citizens_," he practically spat the word, "don't think that you can stay on this ship that long, turn around and get off now."

I look around. No one gets off.

"Pardon me, sir," a child's lisping voice calls from somewhere in the back, "but I fink fvat we can handow it but whot 'bout you?"

The captain's face registers shock, then anger, but he screws up his mouth tightly and simply walks away, ignoring the boy. As everyone breaks out into chatter, laughter, singing, and who knows what else those noises were, I quietly weave my way through to where the boy's voice came from.

He's sitting on a barrel, legs dangling over the side, telling some story to a group of boys probably younger than me, but defiately older than him. I walk up behind th small crowd and cross my arms, listening to his story.

"…and the whole awmy was aftew 'em but fvey kep on figh'ing wif fveir bows an arrows and jus one or two shotguns, but fvey were driven away to 'ide in the sha'ows like cawadly dowgs, the lot of 'em. But not me. I stayed untiw the vewy end, and I've got the scaws to show it."

I have no idea what he's talking about, havng missed most of the story, but the rest of the boys there ooh and clap and cheer while he just site there proudly, an intelligent and somewhat rebellious smir on his face.

I push through the small crowd and stop right by him. "You the kid who called out the captain?"

"Yes," he affirms unashamedly.

Somewhere in my head, there's a bit of respect for this daring little boy, not likely older than 6 or 7. "What's your name, kid?"

"Gavroche."

"Nice job, Gavroche," I say, giving him a slap on the back. He smiles up at me with crooked dirty teeth, but somehow it's still adorable. I smile back and walk over to where Thomas is leaning over the railing.

"That kid is really something," I say, leaning my arms on the railing as well, a bit farther away from him than I wouldv'e liked.

"I don't' have to be jealous now, do i?" he jokes, elbowing me.

I laugh and shake my head no just as someone else flops their arms down a few feet from us. "Everything alright?"

He looks up with a faint smile. "Yeh. It's just gonna be a bit different when we get back to England. Haven't been there since I was a child, you know. Name's Chrissy, by the way. Spenser Chrissy."

"Ari," I say, probably sounding hostile, but not really caring. Something about this man bothers me, but I don't know what it is.

Thomas, who is more friendly than I, hold out his hand to the newcomer. "I'm Thomas. Trust me, England isn't all that different than it was a century ago, let alone a decade and a half."

The man smiles. "I'm glad to hear that."

I walk away, murmuring some vague excuse as I pass. Life will be different back in England, but for me, it shall be for a different reason. I had wanted to go back, but now I'm not so sure. Stay or go, I'll always be a slave in some way. When we reach England, I'll once more be a slave under the curse of the time. I shall never be free with the laws of this world, where gender makes someone unequal, undeserving of rights.

If I had stayed, I would've always been a slave to my own mind, wondering about my family, my friends, but most of all, I would be living a lie. And Thomas. He doesn't deserve to be tied down to someone like me. A criminal, a liar, a woman….what am I? I was Arielle. I was living a lie. I still am, but I don't know how to reverse what I have done. I'm not even sure if I want to. I don't' know _what_ I want.

**A/N I admit it. I stole a character from another fandom. Kudos to anyone who can tell me who it is and what fndom he/she is from! ;)**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N Ugh, I know. Y'all even remember the last time I updated? But I'm out of school in two weeks and I promise it'll get better. And the character I stole last time was Gavroche Thenardier from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.**

**Book of the Update: The Risk in Being Alive by Brian Hancock (So good…look it up****)**

Chapter 26

I wake up to the sounds of shouting and waves splashing. Ugh. I roll over onto my side, away from the porthole, and flop my pillow down over my ears, holding fast to it with my opposite hand.

"GOOD MORNIN' SUNSHINE! WAKE UP!" someone bellows near my ear, accompanied with a slap on my exposed rump. I jump up in shock and for a moment feel violated, but then just angry at him for disturbing my sleep.

It's odd; the men on this ship touch each other more than they do women: slapping each other's behinds, jumping on their backs, doing this weird handshake that's also kind of a backslap…..it's pretty weird, but I've gotten used to it for the most part.** (A/N Like the way baseball players always seem to be touching each other XD)**

I bring my pillow round and it hits the man square on the back of his bald head. He spins around in shock, his face red, but I just laugh along with everyone else who saw it.

"That's payback for wakin' me up, ye hear?"

He just grumbles and walks away, spitting onto the deck as he does.

Oh well. Already awake now; might as well do something before Captain wakes up and sees me down here sleeping and wasting the day away, not working.

I slide down off of my bunk, my bare feet landing with a thump on the floor. I teeter a bit as I take the few steps towards my boots. Still haven't gotten back my sea legs.

Hopping around on one foot, trying to pull my other boot on, I somehow make it across the cabin and end up on both feet near the stairs. I'm about halfway up when I hear someone call my name and spin around.

One of the guys who has a bunk a few down from me holds up a boot with a smirk on his face. "Can I have mine back now?"

I look down at my feet. One of the boots is black, and definitely much bigger than my little brown ones. I look up, sheepish. "Sorry," and take the boot off, tossing it to him.

He catches it and throws mine back with a thanks. I smile and tug on my boot, walking up the stairs finally. I think that guy's name was William? William Mason or Maser or something like that. He's probably the nicest guy on this ship though, always helping and he never complains…not out loud anyway. Who knows what he's like inside his head?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I stop scrubbing for a moment to wipe the sweat out of my eyes, feeling it drip down my back and everywhere. Most of the guys take off their shirts when they have to swab the deck, rather face the sun that the sweat, they say. I wish I could….I made up some excuse about having fair skin and not wanting a burn, but I'm at my wit's end. I'm about ready just strip down right here, no matter what the consequences. Anything to escape the heat that this summer noonday sun brings. Ugh…my eyelashes flutter as sweat drips from my eyebrows. Gross.

I splash the rag into the bucket and leave my hand in the filthy water a bit longer than necessary, just to feel the cooling relief it brings. I yank my hand out and begin to scrub furiously before I can do something stupid, like splash the nasty water onto my face and let it run down my shirt and onto my back. I feel as if I'm being cooked, right here on this deck. Like some giant has me under a flame, roasting me.

Finally, the stupid deck's as clean as it'll ever be and I climb up the ropes to a spot where the flags provide some shelter from the sun and the heat. I make a sort of nest out of the ropes and stretch out, lounging. The wind is better up here, and a light breeze blows my short hair into my face and cools off my skin a bit.

I begin to hum a little tune, something I remember from when I was little and my mother used to sing to me. Most of the memories I have of her are singing. Mother loved music…she had a wonderful voice, and wherever she was, a song or bit of tune was sure to follow. She taught me all sorts of songs, from all sorts of places, but I've forgotten most of them now. She used to say that music was its own history; that songs told stories of times past and of faraway lands.

My humming soon turns into words to a song my mother and I used to sing when I was a child…

_There was a shepherd and he, kept sheep upon a hill_

_And he would go each and e'ry morning look forward to drink his fill._

_So it's blow the windy morning,_

_Blow the winds i-o_

_Clear away the morning dew and sweet the wind shall blow._

_He looked high and he looked low, and he gave a downward look,_

_And there he spied a pretty maid a-washing at the brook._

_So it's blow the windy morning,_

_Blow the winds i-o_

_Clear away the morning dew and sweet the wind shall blow._

_And then they rode along the road till they came on to Lehin,_

_And ready was the waitin maid to let the lady in._

_So it's blow the windy morning,_

_Blow the winds i-o_

_Clear away the morning dew and sweet the wind shall blow._

_She jumped it all for milk-white stee and stepped within the inn,_

_Crying, you're a beggar without, and I'm a maid within._

_So it's blow the windy morning,_

_Blow the winds i-o_

_Clear away the morning dew and sweet the winds shall blow._

_You may pull off your shoes and hose and let your feet go bare,_

_And if you meet a pretty girl, you'll touch her if you dare._

_So it's blow the windy morning,_

_Blow the winds i-o_

_Clear away the morning dew and sweet the winds shall blow_**. (A/N look up "the baffled knight song" on YouTube, it should be the second one titled "baffled_knight_112" sung by Emily Bishop, who has a lovely voice in my opinion. And by the way, sorry if any of those words are wrong; I did it by ear and couldn't find the actual lyrics anywhere).**

As I finish the song, I realize that I must've been singing quite loud, cause there's a small group looking up at the tangle of ropes behind the flags where I'm sitting. Oops. I don't like people to hear me sing….I don't sound very good, but I certainly sound like a girl when I'm singing. Crap, crap, crap.

I scrunch down farther into the little nest I've made for myself and hope that the wind carried away most of my voice.

"Hello? Who's up there?"

Crap. Ok, three options. Try to sneak away unnoticed….not happening. Ignore them and hope they go away….doubtful. That leaves….responding. I screw up my face for a moment before leaning around the flag and giving my hand a little wave. "Me," I holler down, trying to make my voice sound deeper.

"Was that you singing?" Of course. It was Spenser Chrissy. I never like him. "Sounded like a girl." He sniggered.

"Want me to come down there and pound your face in?" he steps back with his hands up in surrender, still smirking.

I grit my teeth and try really, _really_ hard not to roll my eyes.

"Well I 'fought it was reaw pre'y," announces my new friend Gavroche.

I smile a real genuine smile. "Thanks."

The small group of people slowly disperses and I lean back against the mast again, rubbing my eyelids. I'm so stupid. I didn't think anyone would be able to hear me up here, and I wasn't really singing that loud. Ugh, this is pathetic. That I have to hide music. Ugh!

I feel the ropes begin to shake a bit like someone's climbing up and my eyes bolt open and I look down to see Thomas making his way up.

"You didn't tell me you could sing."

I just smile faintly.

"You have a nice voice, you know that?"

I roll my eyes. "A very _feminine_ voice."

He laughs. "Yeah, I guess. But it's still nice."

"Thank you, Thomas," I manage to get out. Not sure why I'm laughing, but I like it. Laughing and singing. Huh; maybe this is what happens when Arielle and Ari blend together?

**A/N Okay, filler chapter; sorry. I just had like this urge that Arielle could sing and that her mother used to sing with her. I don't know; maybe I just felt I hadn't explored her mother's character enough yet, but don't be goin all "MARY SUE ALERT" on me now; she ain't perfect by a long shot, ok? Okay. And I'm sort of getting freaked out by this kinda split personality thing **_**my**__**own**_** character has going on…..yeah….weirding me out a bit XD**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N Io non aquisto. Capisce?**

**Okay, I know. But I literally have like two weeks left, and then I'm free to write. Promise.**

**Book of the Update: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Saw the movie the day it came out….IN LOVE)**

Chapter 27

"If this heat doesn't kill us all, boredom will," Anne, one of the Roanokes, blabs on and on about how there's nothing to do and how she's too hot, but that the view is lovely, just like a fantasy, and how she wants fabric to make a "proper" dress and it just goes on and on and on and on….she seems a very frivolous and annoying person.

"Well," I cut in after the longest time, "I had better be on my way. They always need someone to do something."

She sighs. "I wish _I_ could do something." I make as if to walk away, but she speaks again and I have to stay for fear of being rude. Ugh. "I wish I were a man; then I could do something. I imagine that there are some women who dress as men on adventures like this, wouldn't you?"

I slowly turn around, and I find that she's staring at me with those piercing green eyes of hers.

"It's a rather romantic notion, but I don't think it would be very well if someone chanced to find out now would it?"

The look she gives me sends shivers down my spine.

"Imagine that. That's quite a mind you got there, Miss Anne, you should be a poet," I mutter, trying to make my voice sound deeper and my limbs stop trembling.

I can see in her eyes that she knows my secret and with that special communication that only two women can have, I silently plead for her to keep my secret and she answers in the affirmative. There's a slight suspicion in my mind, but still I say, out loud for all to hear, "It was nice talking to you, but I best be on my way now."

She nods and I slowly turn, not wanting to turn my back on those piercing green eyes that seem to see right into my soul, to see all of my deepest darkest secrets. The frivolous, silly Anne of Roanoke has now become my greatest danger and my greatest ally on this ship. Besides perhaps Thomas, but I _know_ him. I know absolutely nothing about this Anne. If she decides to spill my secret, I'm dead. If she tells, she's either killed me or sentenced me to a life of shame and punishment.

As I walk down the steps to the cabin where we sleep, it's as if I can still feel her eyes watching me like those of a poisonous viper. It's a haunting feeling, being vulnerable under someone that I've just met.

I'm so preoccupied with my thoughts that I walk right into someone, and they have to grab my arms and almost shake me before I even notice. "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't….excuse me." And I make as if to walk by without looking, but a hand grabs my arm and stops me.

"What's wrong?" it's Thomas. I have to tell him; it's Thomas!

"Come with me," I say, grabbing his arm and pulling him round to a secluded corner behind and unoccupied bunk. "What do you know about that Roanoke girl, Anne?"

He blinks. "Not much, why?"

I ignore his question. "Tell me what you know about her."

"Umm….she has red hair and green eyes. Her family didn't want to return to the mainland; they're still in the New World. That plus her name is Anne Smithers is about it. Why?"

"She knows." I look him in the eye and he knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"Did you tell her?" he whispers and I shake my head. "Does she know about….about us?"

"I don't know. That's the scary thing, I didn't tell her and I can't think of anyone that would or could, but she just _knows_. And I don't know exactly what she knows either; she didn't tell me all of it. I think she'll keep it a secret, but I know literally nothing about her…."

It's quiet for a moment, then Thomas speaks. "I don't know what we're going to do if she tells, but let's just tackle that when we get to it, eh? For now all we have to worry about is who's swabbing the deck today," he adds with a teasing grin. "I think I know whose turn it is…." He gives me a look and I groan.

"You are awful, you know that?"

"Aww come on, you know you love me," he plants a kiss on my cheek and stands up. "If I were you, I'd get swabbing before it's too hot," and a wink, as if he could make himself any more adorable.

I roll my eyes and stand up, following him up the stairs and to the small cabinet where the the rags, mops, and buckets are kept.

"Okay, because I'm a nice person, I'll help you," he says and soon we're both crouched down on the deck, rags in hand, sweating.

**A/N I've realized that I only **_**write**_** the accent for like two characters, the rest I just automatically hear in my head when I write them speaking, so would y'all like me to write the accents for **_**all**_** of the characters, **_**some**_** of them, or **_**none**_** of them?**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N Io non aquisto.**

**Book of the update: Maximum Ride by James Patterson**

Chapter 28

{Months later…}

I sigh, looking out over the smoggy haze that is my home. I'm not sure if I'm glad to be back or disappointed _because_ I'm back. Or frightened; it could be feeling frightened. Thomas gives me a nudge with his elbow.

"I'm going to go and help them unload."

I nod, not really listening to him. After he's gone, I stand there a few moments before turning and walking purposefully toward the women's cabins. The door is open when I get there, and there's only one person inside. I glance left and right quickly before heading in.

"Look, Anne, I just….I wanted to say thank you. For not telling my secret."

She smiles amicably. "No problem, Ar- what's you real name, may I ask?"

I falter for a moment. Only Thomas and Pocahontas know my real identity, name and all. But this is Anne; she already knows and is likely to find out some other way if I don't tell her. "Arielle," I finally give in after losing my mental battle. "Arielle LeClair."

"Ooh! That's pretty- it's very French. Hang on, LeClair as in Andre LeClair?" I can see her putting the pieces together behind those viper-like eyes of hers. Ugh, she still gives me the creeps a bit, though I know her better now.

"My father," I answer with tight lips.

She nods, ether not knowing what to say or just respecting my privacy, which would be a first for her. The captain bellows something about getting off. Anne is walking by me when she stops and lays her hand on my bicep.

"And Arielle, follow your heart, not society's rules." And she's gone.

She's done it again- I swear she's a psychic. How did she know that? That was basically a clear message to me about Thomas. How did she know that I didn't want to marry him because of what society would say? Because of whom I am now….ugh, this is all too weird for me. I shake my head as if to clear it and walk outside the cabin again. I'll just…..I'll figure all of this out later.

Of course, once we're all unloaded, there's no family for me to fling myself at, so I just sort of melt off into the trees. Or try to. It's a bit hard to wriggle through the mobs of people, but I make it to the woods that had become my disguise before the adventure. I look back once more and see Thomas trying to fight his way through people, looking for someone. Perhaps me or his family. But when he catches my eye, I knew it was me who he had been looking for.

He smile and begins walking a definite path towards me, and I meet him somewhere in the middle.

"Look, I have to go. I'm sorry, but I really need to. Visit me?"

He nods. "How could I not?"

I smile and sadly pat his chest before beginning the long trek back to Grandmother Willow's. No way am I going home to Aunt Caroline without figuring out a plan first- Grandmother Willow seems a much better idea.

After much walking, having no money for a ride, I'm in the familiar wooded area surrounding my grandmother's cottage.

I walk up the pathway and cautiously knock on her door. "Grandmother Willow?"

It opens almost immediately and I start to say an apology, but stop when I'm overwhelmed in a bone-crushing hug. And Grandmother Willow is no small person, mind you.

"It's good to see you home," she whispers.

We pull apart. "So you're not mad?"

She shakes her head with a slight laugh. "I encouraged ya' to go, didn't I? Well, now, come inside and tell me about it, why you're back, and then we'll see if we can figure out what we're going to do, eh?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

After I've told her everything – meaning Thomas, Pocahontas, Grandmother Willow the tree, Radcliffe and the Indians, the Roanokes, and my father - she was silent for a moment or so before she spoke.

"Well, this certainly is a dilemma you've gotten yourself into."

"Ugh, what do I do?" I flop back onto her worn sofa in defeat. "It doesn't matter; I'll just live out the rest of my days as a lonely hermit without any contact to society."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Arielle. Why don't you just tell your family the truth? Then you can all figure out what to do together."

Oof. I can imagine that conversation right now. It's making me cringe. Grandmother Willow obviously senses my discomfort and sends me back to my room to bathe and change. Into a dress.

After a very pleasurable warm bath, I head back into my room. I've been gone for so long…..years, really. Yet the room looks as if it hasn't been touched since then. My dresses are still haphazardly thrown across the bed, there are golden curls on the floor and shears on the table, and the grey slippers that I hated so much are peeking out from under the bed at crooked angles.

After I got dressed, Grandmother Willow got Spirit hitched up to her little carriage and we started making out way down the road. It seemed so long when I was walking, but by horse, it's nearly half the time. And that is how I ended up standing on my own doorstep, debating whether or not to knock.

Surely they'll be able to tie together the times that the ship returned with my absence and reappearance. Will they be happy to see me? Mad? Both? Grandmother Willow just dropped me off and left me to my own fate, shaking on the steps. Maybe I should just go back, I think, live in the woods. Maybe Thomas and I could run away; no, that won't work. He cares too much about his family. Family…I do miss my brother, and my aunt and uncle…._my_ _father_! It occurs to me that I haven't seen my father since we got off the ship, and that he won't know where we live! I didn't speak to him much on the ship, it's still a bit awkward between us, but he is my father. He deserves to at least know where we live.

I'm about to turn around and walk back to the city to find my father, but I sigh. They'll probably need to speak to someone high in command, maybe even the king. He can be retrieved later; I'm just stalling. Ugh. I take a final look back at the road to the city before I turn and rap my fist sharply against my own front door.


End file.
